Cannellonis with escalivada, tartar sauce and anchovies
Escalivada – is a typical Catalan dish of smoky grilled vegetables like: eggplant, bell peppers, tomatoes and onions
Ingredients
2 red peppers, 2 medium eggplants, 1 onion
200ml vegetable milk cream
5 gelatine sheets
Salt, pepper and nutmeg
12 tubes or sheets of cannelloni pasta
for tartar sauce
200g light mayonnaise
2 pickled cucumbers, 2 tablespoons of capers, 3 hard-boiled eggs, ½ an onion, 3 piquillo peppers, chopped parsley, two cloves of garlic (chopped), 10 black olives without stone
12 anchovy fillets
Chopped chives, vegetable sprouts and some fresh herbs leaf to decorate
Preparation
Make the escalivada – in an oven, preheated to 190ºC, roast peppers, eggplants, and onions (brushed well with olive oil) until browned and soft. Cool slightly, peel the skins and remove the seeds. Next blend the roasted vegetables with the cream and gelatin sheets, previously soaked with cold water and melted in the microwave (see package instructions), season with salt and set aside to thicken.
Boil the cannelloni pasta sheets.
Method
Prepare the tartar sauce by mixing the mayonnaise with all the finely chopped ingredients, season with salt and keep aside.
Put the pasta sheets on top of a clean kitchen towel, using a piping bag squeeze the escalivada filling on each of the cannelloni pasta sheets and roll them to form cannelloni tubes.
Presentation
Serve 3 cannelloni tubes per plate spread tartar sauce and place anchovy fillet on top of each cannelloni, decorate with sprouts, black olives, a quarter of hard-boiled egg, and sprinkle with chives.
Alternatives: anchovies can be replaced with slices of smoked salmon
NUTRITIONAL NOTE:
Peppers are very rich in Vitamin C and promote the absorption of iron from the foods they accompany, cooked they are digested better. Anchovies are rich in omega 3, protein and calcium; their high salt content means they should be eaten in moderation; they belong to the group of small bluefish and therefore their mercury (marine toxic) content is negligible. Sauces made from vegetable cream are healthier, though the total fat content may be similar.
